Aftermath
by Jamesnomoon
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi War is years past, and the world is still picking up the pieces. Konoha lost many of its heroes but still continues to be a leading light in the covert world they live in, trying to keep their much vaunted Will of Fire alive. When an old enemy makes itself known and threatens the fragile new order, the remaining warriors of the Leaf step up to fight again...
1. Chapter 1

Konoha bathed in the pale light of dawn, already a silent hive of activity as dozens of deadly, trained human monsters rose to meet their daily tasks. Shinobi departed their homes and ghosted through streets and across the rooftops to gather teams, exchange guard duties and start patrols; just another day Konoha of mustering for the dangers daybreak might bring.

Amongst the waking covert warriors of the Leaf was the strategical advisor to the Hokage. He yawned and rose sullenly, eyes half-closed against the slight invasion of light that penetrated the blinds of his bedroom.

Departing the warmth of his bed and wife, he rolled out of bed with a barely suppressed grumble before stalking down into the kitchen. Grabbing cereal with no enthusiasm and letting it rest a moment while he collected the evenings reports, he sat heavily with a sigh before starting to read through for anything especially pertinent, knowing that any immediate issues had or were being dealt with by localised teams.

Long minutes rolled by as he absently ate breakfast, scanning the files with practiced ease as he mentally picked out the important facts. Flipping a page he then stopped and narrowed his eyes, rereading the documents in detail. He sat back, dropping the file on the table with breakfast forgotten, gazing out of the window with eyes absent with painful memory.

Shikamaru Nara glanced at the file again before rising sharply and heading upstairs to get dressed, dawns light lancing down onto the exposed page, the words "Cult of Jashin" written in red and gleaming crimson in the dawn.

The Hokage, leader of Konoha Hatake Kakashi, was apparently deeply involved in his own reports with a large folder held up easily in one hand as he quietly enjoyed the simple pleasure of the first tea of the day. He merely glanced over when Shikamaru opened the door, and noted the abnormally serious expression on his young assistants face. Turning to face Shikamaru, moving his file surruptiously so as to hide the copy of Icha Icha inside that he was rereading for umpteenth time, he regarded the young Nara man with a level gaze.

"You're early today."

"You've read the mornings reports, I take it. In between chapters of novel, that is."

Kakashi inwardly winced, but smiled and set the folder to one side. After all, it might just be an informed guess.

"Not all of them. I woke up late, as I was having a dream about being lost on the roads of li-"

"There are reports of the Cult of Jashin having confirmed presence between here and Suna, and at several points along the borders of Fire and Wind countries. There have been appropriate religious iconography found at several locations in these areas and more than five traveling groups of civilians have been attacked and wiped out, again with Cult of Jashin hallmarks left at the scene. I request authorisation to personally oversee the subsequent investigation, and further request the re-instatement of Team Asuma as the principle experts on the Cult of Jashin and Team Kuranai for support and as rural investigation and survival specialists."

Kakashi maintained his level gaze on Shikamaru, who looked back with the same calm expression, and Kakashi could see the old fire ignited behind those eyes. Tempered with wisdom and age, Kakashi noted to himself.

The white haired Hokage glanced at his desk to the picture of him, Asuma and Kuranai, taken shortly after they had taken on their Genin teams. He wasn't one for sentiment, but it reminded him of why he did this job, and now was no different.

"This can't be viewed as a personal matter, Shikamaru, I will require you to keep your head if I allow this. "

"Of course, sir."

"It will take time. Ino is still working for Ibiki, and Choji is...taking a break from active duties. Not to mention un-entangling Hinata from her current posting. Kiba is overseeing Clan issues and I am sure he will leap at the chance to take up a mission first chance he gets. I will contact the Abarame clan to find out what Shino is up to. You have a week to prepare, and to build up the courage to tell your wife. I am sure Temari will have some choice words to share with you over this..."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, and Shikamaru sighed even as his stomach chilled at the thought of facing his...passionate...wife about heading off into the darkness against a committed murder Cult. He nodded his assent, turning to head back out of the room, musing on how everyone had moved on. Choji, pursuing a relationship with that foreign Kunoichi, Ino continuing on her fathers work just as he had. No-one had expected the events of the last war to change the quiet and shy Hyuuga so much as it had, and she had simply disappeared to most. As military advisor Shikamaru knew the truth, and had a few contacts in ANBU that were keeping him broadly aware of her condition as she slowly worked her way up their ranks. Even those vague snippets were chilling.

"Shikamaru...just be careful. We have no idea what they're up to, so take time to prepare and gather further data. We don't have Naruto to back you up."

Shikamaru thought back to the vicious battle against the two immortal Akatsuki, and how his blonde friend had come to fight by his side. He smiled sadly over his shoulder to Kakashi as he left the room.

"No. We don't. Naruto is dead. All we can do is carry on and hope we do him proud."


	2. Chapter 2 - Gathering Leaves

**Aftermath**

 **Chapter 2**

Shikamaru slipped into his home with a bare click of the door, hoping to take a few moments peace before the inevitable storm to come, but Temari was already waiting and sat in the kitchen. She flickered a glance in his direction from where she read the morning papers and he could see the dangerous, calculating look in her eye.

Shit.

He just nodded slightly, accepting that she knew something was up, and went to sit with her at the table where the next few minutes passed in torturous silence. Temari merely read the paper to simply let the silence drag on and Shikamaru knew she would rather wait until the end of time rather than let him wriggle free of her terrible, pinning presence. He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"The Cult of Jashin are back."

"Oh?"

Her simple not-question came smoothly after, rolling off her tongue easily, but it brought a slight cold sweat to Shikamaru's back. She wasn't giving an inch, her breaking of the silence only serving to draw out more from her husband. He needed a strategy. And a cigarette, if the evil truth were told.

"Yes. They've killed several civilian caravans, and are making their presence felt between here and the Wind country."

He noted her slight narrowing of eyes. A death Cult between Konoha and her country of origin would be of note to her. The keystone of building the bridge between his going on this mission and her accepting of such was in place. This would draw her out to react, give him an opening. It was his strongest play, and one he was loathe to give up so soon, but he couldn't see an easy way forward without it. He counted the ticks on the clock, gauging her reaction on how many seconds it took her to reply.

"Sounds _troublesome_. I assume you will be sending a team to investigate."

Nine seconds. Cautious interest, then, tempered with wariness. And another not-question. His atypical silence, strange actions this morning, invocation of his signature phrase and the name Jashin meant he knew she had already ascertained that he knew he was getting directly involved. So at this point it's damage control.

"Yes. I have asked for two three man platoons, one specialist and one expert. I haven't talked to the Hokage about this, but I have no doubt that he will be touching base with Sunagakure on this matter."

"Makes sense. Perhaps I should travel with the platoons as far as the border and make the necessery contact myself. That would bring the appropriate level of gravity to the proceedings and ensure that everyone acts accordingly. After all, I have not seen the rest of my family for a while."

Shikamaru let out a very slight breath. For anyone but Temari it would have been nothing to note, no more than simply breathing, but he saw the glimmer of victory flash in her eyes. She knew he was going, and had led him into her trap beautifully. He couldn't well argue for her not to go without either downplaying the threat, in which case he wouldn't need to go either, or by trying to argue it was too dangerous. The second one was not to be thought of, ever. He relented, relinquishing the field to his now smirking wife.

"We'll be leaving in about a week. It will be Team Asuma and Team Kuranai."

"A week? That's a short time gather them all back from their duties."

Shikamura smiled a little, watching her expression soften as he said his departed mentors name. Games or not she knew how much this would matter to him. Besides, it would be good to see his fierce lady at work again, if only for the journey.

"Yeah, they've scattered to the winds. Pain in the ass, but at least it means we have time to send word to Suna. The Kazekage's sister travelling back will mean you'll be met by an honour guard at the border, and we don't know what the Cult is up to. Best be cautious until we know what they're planning."

To his relief and slight surprise she nodded, and then grabbed his hands as she stood up. Finding himself in her arms, he slid his arms around her. She'd never been shy when it came to making the first move. He knew it was frequently said that the reason why they got married in the first place was because Temari forced _him_ down on one knee and then proposed, offering a ring down to him. He smiled at the memory before her voice brought him back to the present.

"I know this is personal to you; don't you even think of fucking lying to me, Nara Shikamaru. I also know you won't let that influence you on mission. That being said, if you get killed I swear on the Kami that I will find a way to make you suffer, got that?"

"You wouldn't be you if you couldn't find a way to make the dead cry, my love. I'll be careful. I always am."

"You better. I need you around."

He frowned slightly, but she switched his brain off with passionate, fiery kiss and then towed him toward the bedroom. He would have objected, he was technically on the clock, but she'd never been shy about making the first move.

* * *

Kiba was the first of the selected team members to respond , apparently responding to the Hokage's call to arms by clearing his desk of the mounds of paperwork with a single broad sweep of his arm and shouting loudly that "My village needs me!" before jumping from the window with a dramatic pose and a fierce grin, leaving his Clan Elders shouting after him and two long suffering Inuzuka Genin to re-sort the files. He arrived at the Hokage Tower less than five minutes later, his sister and mother arriving a minute after that.

The resulting blazing argument had the two ANBU on the door calling quietly but urgently for backup, convinced that it was a diversion for an attempt on Kakashi's life, and Kakashi had to calm the whole thing down by forcefully but carefully asking Hana and Tsume to leave so he could brief their young Clan Head on his mission. Once the volatile Inuzuka women had left he only had the similarly excitable Kiba to deal with. Explaining the core of the issue was easy as the diplomatic side of the mission wasn't of interest to Kiba; he just wanted to know who to hunt. Once this was done Kiba declared he would acquire Shino himself as he had an idea where his old team-mate would be and the ties between Aburame and Inuzuka were strong now. With that Kiba was gone, and Kakashi returned to his high level requests to the Interrogation Unit and ANBU. The politics of Konoha ran deep, even when it came to departments that apparently worked with the Hokage office...even Kakashi couldn't just yank their members from assignments without a little legwork.

* * *

The Interrogation Unit HQ was quiet today. Ino sat in quiet reflection on the rooftop of the severe building, staring up at the skies much as her old friend Shikamaru had once done a long time ago. She smiled at the thought, letting her thoughts wander as they often did in quiet moments, back to younger and more innocent days.

Picking up her mug of half-cold tea she reminisced at will, the efficient filing of her own mind allowing her to browse crystal clear memories as another might leaf through a book of photographs. The Genin selection exam, first days of training under Master Asuma, the Chunin exam and the subsequent battle against Sound and Sand that had such long reaching consequences for everyone. First contact with the anarchistic and dangerous Orochimaru since his departure from Konoha. The betrayal by Suna. Naruto reaching out to the unstable Gaara, which led to unprecedented cooperation between the two villages in later years.

Ino flickered her minds eye across the images that followed, and ruminated on the idea that without Naruto Shikamaru would never have gotten married to Temari. Gaara would have never have become Kazekage. So much would never had come to pass if Naruto had not tried to connect with his fellow jinchuuriki. And then knocked him *awake* with a flying head-butt. Ino smiled as she recalled the animated recounting of the battle at the Ichiraku ramen stand, complete with sound effects. Connect with him he had, and with such vigor.

Naruto had possessed this incredible way of empathising with the wounded animals of the Shinobi world, no doubt cultured by his own agony and inner scars. In that painful soil had bloomed a bright soul, cared for by Iruka and the Third, and then Jiraiya, Tsunade and others. He understood pain, and instead of giving in to it he had understood it, made it a lens to look through and understand others and their own tortured lives.

She sighed, remembering darker times, and that final battle between Sasuke and Naruto. He had never stopped reaching out to his twisted friend, and eventually his never ending quest to redeem the lost Uchiha took his life. She flicked through the final pages of that line of thought. Sasuke captured. Naruto's funeral, alongside Hyuuga Neji who had also sacrificed his life. Kakashi declaring Sasuke's pardon on the strength of Naruto's dying wish. Sasuke leaving, by all accounts to atone for his multitude of sins. Naruto had found his friend at the last but had paid the ultimate price. Ino knew most of the village would never forgive Sasuke for that. Ino certainly wouldn't. He'd managed to kill hope out of purest pride.

She sighed again and put the now empty teacup down, sitting up with a stretch. Amazing how less than a decade had changed everything, and yet everything stayed the same. The "Big Five" hidden Shinobi villages were broadly at peace, but that peace got more and more fragile every month that passed. Selfish politics and grabs for power from their respective countries made it harder and harder to maintain the future Naruto, Neji and all the other honoured dead had fought for. All of which gave Ino her current profession, which she only slightly grateful for, but mostly ashamed. It was required, and she was good at it, but she felt like a traitor. One more stain on the possibility of peace. She picked up her cup and descended back down into the stark, forbidding building.

Ibiki met her in the main chambers, where the bulk of the Interrogation Unit work was. Contrary to popular belief a lot of the work done by the Unit was filing and fact checking, cross referencing information for proper examination techniques and how to proceed with questioning, or organizing what has been found and passing it on to the proper section so they can glean the correct details needed for the next task at hand. The actual interrogations where relatively rare and done by specialists in specifically designed rooms, away from the large open plan offices that Ino walked into now. The large, heavy set Ibiki loomed out from his own personal office and called Ino over, who walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Sir?"

"I have recieved a request from the Hokage's Office to have you temporarily relieved of immediate duties for release to the field."

Ino frowned slightly. She had kept up with training of course, as a member of the Unit there was always the danger of being attacked, but she hadn't been on active mission duties for a year or more.

"If I may ask, sir, do we know why?"

"Yes. After the unfortunate loss of Asuma you and your team made a special study of a particular religious faction, as I recall. It would appear that the Hokage has need of combat capable people with that specialised knowledge."

Ino felt her blood go cold, while something in her gut went white hot. The Cult of Jashin, the murderous priesthood of death worshippers, were the fringe group that had given rise to the creature known as Hidan. Her mind flashed back to the battle against the crazed lunatic and his cold hearted partner, and she gritted her teeth slightly. She wore her practiced calm mask of control, but Ibiki was never going to be fooled.

"Miss Yamanaka, you are an essential asset to my team at this time. I am loathe to relinquish you to active service, especially when you might be emotionally compromised by the target of the mission."

Ino took a slight breath and removed the turmoil from her mind, snipping the emotion from her mental processes with precise ease, like snipping an errant branch from a tree.

"Sir, I studied the Cult of Jashin for this very reason; that should they pose a problem in the future that we would have the capability to deal with them. I am in control, sir, and I respectfully submit that there would be no-one better on site than myself when it comes to combating them."

Ibiki regarded the young woman in front of him, his own impassive stone mask in place and not giving anything away. She was right, of course, but she was also one of his more promising members. She had the capability of becoming his second, and maybe even succeeding him. Thanks to her unique powers of the mind her memory was nearly eidetic, her capacity for controlling her emotions at will essentially made her a switch activated sociopath, but also gave her a unique ability to deal with her feelings when she returned them. A moralistic human monster with perfect recall and the ability to delve into the inner-most thoughts of a captive; she was perfect in many ways. Too good to lose in some unreported skirmish in nowhere land. His thoughts crossed to the other report he had gained, and the letter he had sent to the ANBU head office.

"You appreciate the risk I would be taking on behalf of Konoha if I would release you?"

"Yes sir. You trained me well; I will come back."

"Very well. I will release you. I have acquired this." Ibiki extracted a scroll from his desk, and passed it to Ino. "Made by an old associate of yours, and keyed to your chakra signature. Should you find yourself in dire need, use it."

Ino examined the scroll briefly as she took it from Ibiki's hand, and noted the distinctive ink-work of Sai. One of his animal creations, then. Ibiki had already chosen to release her well before even calling her to the office; he just wanted to keep her on task. She stowed it away and bowed.

"Thank you sir. Until I return."

"Miss Yamanaka."

He nodded to her, and then turned to his files in his traditional way of signaling the meeting was over. Ino left silently and headed toward the Hokage tower.

* * *

Blue Fox. That was her name now. Just a description of the mask she wore; a simple vulpine aspect with exaggerated eyes and ears bearing a whirl of royal blue streaks that accentuated its features and flowed naturally the centre of its forehead. Clothed in a non-descript cloak overlaying pale white armour, Blue Fox led a platoon of the deadly, feared elite of her village.

The four of them stood in the treeline, feet planted on branches far too thin to ever hold their weight, their green/grey hooded cloaks blending their shapes against the foliage as they looked down at the small village just beyond. Blue Fox gestured with an elegant gloved hand and her team spread out as she made a simple sign before her mask. Subvocalized communications, hidden within the mask, directed her team towards targets that thought themselves hidden amongst the civilians going about their day.

A woman, apparently browsing the market. A man fishing the lake with net and spear. Another working stone at the village edge. A girl seducing the local boys with apparent coy, shy vulnerability. All of them suffuced with a subtle energy that would missed by normal senses. The team converged on the town, each clandestine figure either drifting into the crowds with a well timed Henge or moving with heartopping silence and ease across the wooden rooftops and between the houses. Blue Fox dropped and moved, still passing vital information to her team as she went.

Blue Fox watched through the crowds and buildings as the woman went down without a sound, her limp body vanishing between the buildings before anyone could even register there had been an incident. The stall holder looked up for the lady he had been haggling with, a different product in his hands, and cursed her lack of manners for wandering off. Fox kept moving, closing on her own target.

The man working stone reacted faster than the first victim, his senses picking up the intense focus of the incoming predator. He stood and moved in amongst the rocks of the stoneworks, fading into the background with practiced ease even as his hands blurred to form Doton signs and weaponize the mineral formations around him. He blinked as the Jutsu failed to form, and was just as bewildered as he hit the ground unconscious. Fox reported his takedown and moved in an oblique semi-circle 20 meters from her target, waiting for her team-mate to remove the final threat.

The fisher was now fully aware that something was wrong; finely honed instincts informing him that a threat was quickly approaching. Hefting his spear and opening his net he made a show of throwing unwanted fish back to the lake, ready for the inevitable violence. A cloaked figure fell from the skies, a prodigous leap from the nearest building having carried it impossibly high in the air. The spear launched upwards with an explosive force that rattled the gangplanks beneath its thrower, ripping through the Kage Bunshin like an arrow through paper. The fisher turned, snatching up and throwing the now splayed open heavy rope net toward the same figure, now approaching him with incredible speed along the wharf, and dropped to one knee with a hiss of pain. He glanced down at his foot, clutching his ankle, and saw a serpentine form slip back down between the waterlogged boards he stood on and down into the waters below. Feeling the venom already working through his veins he snapped up a second spear, launching it again with incredible force toward his opponent.

The incoming figure flickered as the net descended, erupting outwards through the netting as a swarm of snakes, the spear slamming past the sinuous creatures to pin the net to the gangway beyond with its cruel forked head. The coiling mass coalesced a moment later, the cloaked assailent reforming with one arm snapping out a flurry of kunai that the sickened fisher barely deflected with a wave of his third, hastily acquired spear. As he tried to regain his stance the attacker slammed into him bodily and pulled them both abruptly into the water. The other fisherman looked around idly from their own tasks at the splash but seeing nothing but slight waves simply returned to work while an unseen part of the lake turned murky and red.

Blue Fox continued to circle at distance around her mark, the girl apparently unaware and gossiping with the blushing boys, but Fox could see the sly look in her eyes and the slight tilt of her head that implied a greater awareness of her surroundings than a young teenager should have. The way she had her hand lingering at her waist indicated she was armed and ready to do harm, and Fox did not want the situation turning into a hostage incident. She needed to separate the girl from the civilians.

Her opening came a minute or two later, a mother angrily calling for her son to come home and do chores. As the motherhood instilled Pavlovian response took over, all the boys starting and looking around guiltily at the raised voice, Fox flicked a senbon needle across the girls eye-line, centimetres away from her nose and burying the metal sliver deep into the wooden beam beside her. The girl lept backwards with a powerful bound to put precious meters between her and the oblivious boys, and Fox materialised in the gap between them with more steel needles flying toward her adversary.

The girl dodged the flickering slivers, now shrouded in the hostile bloodlust of a trained killer, leaping up and out to land with barely a tap of bare feet on a nearby rooftop with Fox following a heartbeat behind. The boys looked back to their would-be paramore with confusion and disappointment when they saw nothing but a little dust raised in the afternoon air, and slowly parted ways to daydream of their days might-have-been, ignorant of the deadly showdown transpiring above them.

Fox assessed her opponent as the weight of impending conflict settled in the air, thick as blood. She was focused, ready, with sharp eyes that analysed Fox right back. This girl might be fourteen but she was already a trained veteran of the Shinobi world. Her open stance, full of openings, was either practiced obfuscation or a part of her technique and Fox wasn't going to be fooled by it. The girl had not put much distance between her and her attacker, so whatever her style it was close range. This would normally suit Fox but instinct screamed in the back of her mind to be wary of her opponents confidence and Fox was far too experienced to ignore that silent warning. Mid-range combat was going to decide this.

Fox blurred in close, faking out her opponent with a series of swooping kunai strikes which drew shallow crimson streaks across her targets skin. The strikes were meant to be slightly telegraphed, allowing her opponent to dodge with reletive ease, but the girl didn't quite get out of the way of any of them. Fox didn't like it, a slight cold drop in her stomach telling her something wasn't right, that somehow she had played into this girls technique. Fox kicked up a gear, attempting to slap a fake detonation tag on the girl, who widened her eyes in sudden recognition and jumped away to the next roof. Fox smiled grimly behind her mask; whatever the girl was capable of it didn't involve being exploded.

The pair continued playing their silent game of cat and mouse on the edge of the village, dancing in and out of each others range until they made it out of the village and into the forest beyond. Both of them wanted to use their full range of abilities, and neither could do so in the settlement. The girl wanted to continue hiding amongst its people, and Fox and her team weren't even meant to be present. In the cool, green depths of the trees the real fight was about to begin.

The two of them regarded each other silently; one still garbed in her robe and impassive, mocking canid mask, the other bleeding from disregarded shallow wounds across her arms and shoulder. The forest was silent with every creature, even the trees and the wind itself, hiding from the deadly intent of the two women that stood amongst them.

The crushing atmosphere deepened, pressure building as the pair mentally envisioned their shared struggle, each trying to get the measure and better of the other. Still as statues until the last possible second, their sudden explosive moments whipped the leaves on the ground into a whirling storm.

Fox battled for the mid-range, a deluge of kunai and shuriken streaking through the clouds of poison bombs she scattered at the very outset. The girl lept through both with barely a care, heavy kunai deflected away with great skill, a short, straight sword in hand while the shuriken pierced her lower arms, shoulders and torso. Shallow wounds, but Fox's shuriken bore venom, and Fox again felt a twinge of something not right.

The girl moved in close, sword blurring in savage, lightning quick jabs and chops. Fox whirled out of the way with effortless grace, practiced form taking her out of the swords zone with ease. The swordsgirl stopped and took stance, the short sword forcing her to an aggressive defense, and Fox noted with surprise the blood on the weapon edge.

Fox took a slight breath to momentarily check her facilities, taking a mental inventory of her physical form, and found herself unharmed. Relieved, she re-analyzed her opponent and almost missed the discrepancy; the streak of blood next to a wound on her arm, where something had been dragged through it. The girl had coated the blade in her own blood, and so subtly that Fox had not noticed. So the blood was key to her technique. No wonder then that she had gladly taken those shallow but otherwise harmless cuts.

The bleeding girl noted Fox's change of attitude and snarled, taking up the attack by grabbing on of the shuriken still imbedded in her flesh and flinging it with a small spray of blood at Fox, even as she launched forward with her sword. Fox jumped, planting her feet on the thin tree that had been behind her and anchored herself there, chakra pulsing through her soles as she withdraw needles and wire from her pouches.

The shuriken, deprived of its fast moving fleshy target, slammed into the green-white bark of the tree beyond. The effect was immediate, the skin of the tree turning a sickly black before starting to dissolve and crumble, the shuriken falling to the ground. Fox bounced across to the next tree, eyeing the devastation for a half moment while keeping an eye on her now smirking opponent.

Her opponent naturally weaponised her blood into a hyper-necrotic toxin and could coat weaponry with it. She could probably do the same with her other bodily fluids as well; one unguarded strike against sweaty skin would have taken her hand at the very least. It also explained her apparent disregard and immunity to poisons. Fox thanked the heeded instinctive warning in her head, and hefted the hidden set of needles in her cloak. It didn't change anything, she simply knew why her opponent acted as she did. Time to finish up.

The sword sliced through the trunk of the tree, the necrotic effect taking effect immediately as Fox launched herself into the air, cloak flying out to reveal her white armour and her arms sweeping wide, heavy steel slivers flying out amongst the forest boles to whip and turn as Fox pulled tight on the wires that trailed behind. The impossibly intricate wire web contracted as the needles hit wood, Fox landing behind her opponent with steel thread constricting close around her target and binding her in a maze of biting metal. Fox ignored her screams and curses, another set of needles in hand.

These needles were darker, and once again bound by wire of the same dark material. She wasted no time, one hand flicking the chakra enabled projectiles into her opponent, and Fox for a moment noted the look of abject fear on the girls face. That was the look of a fourteen year old girl. Fox meditated on that for a heartbeat before gripping the thread tight and focusing. The bound target gasped in sudden pain and passed out, her Tenketsu perfectly struck and pierced by the pulse of chakra.

The forest was silent for a moment before the wind dared breath again, the claustrophobic feeling of Shinobi at war dissipating along with the breeze. Her team arrived moments later, a second subtle rush of air heralding their presence.

"Sir, all targets have been captured, and the civilians are unaware. I do not believe we have been made by local forces, either." The robed figure waited for a moment, and Fox nodded.

"Good. Signal the Interrogation Corps that we have their packages ready."

"Yes sir. I have also recieved a coded communication. Your eyes only."

Fox frowned behind her mask and took the offered scroll, reading through it quickly. She enveloped the scroll with a minute flicker of her chakra and the paper burned through without so much a whiff of smoke or mote of ash.

"I return to the village. Clean up here and travel to the northern pass to recieve your new assignment and team leader."

"Yes sir..." The figures waited for a moment, uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Something wrong?"

"Sir...no sir, but...why? Was there something wrong with our operations?"

"No. I am being pulled for a specific assignment. The message stressed that this was not a result of negative evalution. Hopefully I will be done and back with you soon."

The figures nodded and straightened, ready to move. "Good hunting, sir."

"Good hunting."

Fox took a few steps away and warned of the toxic nature of the target as the team, _her_ team, secured the unconscious girl. Back to Konoha. She had not been home for years; choosing instead to dwell in the shadows and in the dangerous places. Even when off duty she preferred to find quiet places in the Fire Country rather than go back to the village. This was going to be strange. The last part of the message disturbed her, as well.

"You will not require your mask."

She would no longer be Blue Fox, ANBU captain. She would be her again. Did she even know how to be be her? What had she been? How did she talk? A wave of anxiety, long since dismissed, washed over her. She didn't want to go back, and take her mask off and be a person. That's why she was out here.

But an order was an order.

She vanished into the trees and, leaving the darkness behind her, finally went home.

* * *

Author: Well...that happened. I hope all two of you that are following this enjoy my somewhat more substantial chapter drop. I enjoyed writing Ino and (The oh so mysterious and not obvious at all, especially given previous reveals) Blue Fox as darker and more experienced Shinobi. I will also be writing the characters a little more as actual covert ops types rather than people with super-powers, and I hope that comes across in my writing style. On to the next chapter!


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